Rounds’ Bill to Preserve Wounded Knee Massacre Grounds Unanimously Passes Senate

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today issued a statement following unanimous Senate passage of his legislation, the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act. The bill passed the House in January 2025 and now heads to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

Rounds’ bill would place 40 acres of land at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre into restricted fee status, making certain that the land is held by both the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes for generations to come.

“I am pleased that the Senate has passed the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act,” said Rounds. “We’ve been working to pass this legislation for almost three years. Our persistence has paid off. The Wounded Knee Massacre represents a devastating low point in U.S.-Lakota relations. The land at this symbolic and sacred site will now be held in possession of both the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes to be preserved for future generations. We will continue to tell the story of this dark day in our nation’s history.”

BACKGROUND:

Rounds first introduced the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act in June 2023. Ryman LeBeau, Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and Frank Star Comes Out, President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, testified on the legislation in a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing. The committee later unanimously passed legislation, but was blocked from passing the full Senate.

Rounds later reintroduced the bill to the 119th Congress in January 2025. The Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in March 2025. This legislation is cosponsored by Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) introduced companion legislation in the House.

Click HERE to read full bill text.

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